Dark Secrets of the past
by Raven Black
Summary: NOT AN ACTUAL UPDATE JUST FIXING THE FORMAT! Jason's life gets a whole new meaning when he comes home a little early one day. Post Gold Ranger..by a few years. Jason's 25. Rating is for a couple swear words.
1. Begginings

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As of today, August 31, 2005 I have revised my story. I went to update it last night and noticed that it seriously lacked in something so I fixed it and I think it's better. If anyone who read this story before is still reading I hope it makes more sense now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or V. R. Troopers. This story is written out of pure fun and for non-profit entertainment purposes only.

Having that said read on and enjoy

CRASH-SITE OF GRIMLORDS SKY-BASE

Doom-master stood far away from the smoldering wreckage that had once been his masters' Sky-base. He couldn't believe that while he had been gone that annoying V. R. Trooper Ryan Steel had destroyed the base as well as Grimlord. Oh, he was sure Grimlord had been destroyed, there had been no transmissions from him since that day about a week ago and none of the others had seen him transport out. There had been no survivors. Oriclone had probably been destroyed as well but he didn't care about him. He had been a nuisance, an unreliable ally, and it was good to see him gone.

He knelt down to one knee in grieving for his lost master when suddenly a purple light surrounded him and he was taken from the ground to be released in a throne room that was much like the one in Grimlords'' Sky-base. The chair on the platform in front of him was turned so he could not see its occupant. He decided the direct approach was best.

"Who are you? How dare you bring me here!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. But the answer he received wasn't what he had expected. A jolt of purple lightening from the mysterious occupant in the chair sent him to his knees.

"I brought you here because you seemed genuinely sincere about my fathers' death." As he spoke his chair had turned around and its occupant was revealed.

Doom-master was speechless.

"Surely you know who I am, but I'll introduce myself to your fellow warriors." He motioned around the room and Doom-master saw the others. Despaira was standing to his left and the vixens were right behind him and a few skugs were also present.

"To those who have never had the privilege of knowing me, I am Prince Xarian. My fathers only son and his successor. With your help I will rebuild his empire and destroy the V. R. Troopers, a feat that my father could never do."

"You can never be his successor Xarian. You were banished years ago therefore leaving you out of line for ruling Virtual Reality. The throne belongs to your sister, not _you_!"

"My sister is a traitor! For years she has kept me from destroying the Steel family. If I had destroyed the boy when he was younger my father would have no opposition in concurring reality." As he spoke lightening danced off his hands and swarmed around the throne. "Anyway," he began again regaining his composure, "If my sister wishes to take over Virtual Reality, which I assure you she won't. . ."

"We'll make her; it's her birthright!" Despaira objected.

"Birthright? **BIRTHRIGHT! **I'll prove to you whose_ birthright_ it is!" Xarian evilly eyed each one of his fathers' loyal warriors before he sat down on his throne. He pressed his fingertips together and, after a moment, Suddenly broke out in a wide, evil grin. 

Doom-master considered not saying anything and just waiting for the banished princes answer, but the look on his face said that Xarian was lost in his own world. "How exactly do you intend to prove you're worthy enough," _traitor_ he added silently.

Xarian remained silent.

"Well!" He growled.

"Quiet!" He yelled. "I'm thinking," he added softly.

"You had better think fast."

Suddenly Xarian chuckled.

"What is so funny?" Despaira asked annoyed.

"I intend to make the prophecy my father foretold long ago, come true."

"What prophesy?" Despaira said more to Doom-master than to Xarian.

Doom-master shrugged and they both turned expectantly toward the prince.

"Oh, come now. Surely you remember the prophecy of the Steele sons. It was the main reason my father refused to let me destroy them. . ._" The reason I was banished! _ He thought, the anger swelling within him.

He turned to the confused warriors and sighed. "Oh, all right," he growled. "My father predicted that his own death would bring a son of Tyler Steele to the throne and that they would destroy the earth they fought so hard to protect."

"That's absurd. They are both to honor bound and good. Neither of those boys would ever. . ."

Xarian turned to Despaira, the anger on his face making her shrink back. "You dare doubt my fathers prophesy. When something is good and pure of heart that only means that they have an equal amount of evil in their hearts as well. All of you should know that well enough."

"And which of the infamous Steele boys will take over your fathers' throne?" Doom-master mocked. He knew as well as the rest of them that none of the Steeles' would ever turn to evil willingly. They would have to be forced.

"The one that has been consumed by his hunt to destroy evil."

"They all have fought hard to destroy evil." Despaira announced.

"But one has been more desperate than the rest. The most dangerous one in fact, which is why Chameleon is going to have to provoke the chosen-one into taking his place, after I free her of that lizard shape in reality that my father imprisoned her in, of course. Don't be so shocked that I will use Chameleon instead of you bumbling fools."

"How could we not know of this 'prophesy'?"

"I assumed my father would have told you if he had trusted you. But Colonel Iceborg knows of it. Ask him if you doubt me." Xarian Replied offhandedly to Doom-master.

"We would rather hear it from you."

"Well aren't you persistent. Fine then, I'll indulge you with a story. You see my father first told this prophecy to Tyler Steele as a torture. Everyday he would tell Professor Steele that one of his sons would take his place, and he would have to see them fall toward the darkness and that they would never return." Xarian stopped his speech and turned back to the warriors below him. They were all stunned. He sighed annoyed. "You are all morons! Is any of this sinking in yet?"

_One of his sons? _As Doom-master stared at Xarian the realization struck. Those two boys had been monitored for some time now. Especially the older one. Both of them had joined the fight against evil and would not be likely to turn. But if it was a prophecy of Grimlord it had to be true. It was just hard to believe that one of Tyler Steele's sons would soon be there new ruler.

**Da Da Dum! … ugh! I hate revisions. I hope you enjoyed**


	2. Nightmares pt 1

****

Disclaimer: As per usual I do not own Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or V. R. Troopers. (Let's face it ya'll if I did I wouldn't be working on this rotten piece of junk I have for a computer.) Prince Xarian and Juliet's Humanoid form Chameleon (she'll show up eventually. I promise) are products of my _way _overactive imagination.

Having that said, read on and enjoy!

Ryan Steele sat casually on his couch in the late hours of the night, reading a book that he had borrowed from his karate sensei, Tao. He was a very strict teacher especially on Ryan. Although Tao sometimes joked that Ryan was harder on himself than he was. Ever since Ryan had started Karate at the Dojo with Tao they had become buddies. Tao was so many more things to Ryan than a friend, he was a mentor, a teacher, and in some ways, a father.

The book was about a Great warrior named Tatzu, whose mysterious long lost brother had come back to discover his past. But his brother was evil instead of good like he was. Where Ryan was at the moment was when Tatzu first discovered that he had a brother.

Ryan laid the book open on his lap, put his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. He let his thoughts drift off in any direction and soon he had fallen asleep and started to dream.

__

In his dream he was standing at the temple. His father and two children Ryan didn't recognize were there also. Ryan guessed their ages to be about 4 and 2 years old, and his father looked a good twenty years younger. But they didn't pay any attention to him. Ryan was simply an onlooker in what appeared to be the past, a past that he didn't remember.

"Okay Jason," Tyler Steele said as he reached into the bag behind him and pulled out his camera. "Jason, I want you to sit down by your brother so I can take your picture. That's good Jason now put your arm around him."

Ryan leaned against a tree and watched as the boy put a loving arm tightly around his little brother.

"Like this daddy?" Came the small reply.

"Yes Jason that's very good, just not so tight. Okay. . . that's looks really cute boys." He started to take the picture when suddenly the smaller of the two started to look at the ground and not pay attention. Tyler looked up from the camera. "Ryan . . . Ryan. Son could you look at the camera and be still for a moment?"

That's me? The older Ryan questioned. 'But I don't have a brother.

"Don't wanna Daddy. Wanna go play. "

Jason looked at the little Ryan and started whispering to him. But Ryan could hear every word that was said.

"Hey, little bro tell you what. Sit still for just a minute for the picture and I'll tell you a secret."

"What?" The little boy whispered in return.

"That daddy's got ice-cream at home and I'll sneak you some when we get home. But you gotta be still for the picture. Okay?"

"Okay. Ready for picture daddy."

Tyler looked suspiciously at his sons. "What did you tell him Jason?

"It's a secret daddy. Better take picture before he moves again.

"Okay ready . . . say cheese!

"ICE CREAM!" they both shouted together.

Tyler snapped the picture, then laughed. "I guess I know the secret now." Ryan watched his dad turn around and put the camera back in the bag when suddenly a cry from one of the boys made them both turn around and face the boys. And the image before them turned Ryan's blood to ice. He looked at his father and the smile that had been there before had been replaced by a look of pure horror and fear as he saw his sons attacker.

A robot.

What's a robot doing here? Ryan wondered.

"Sorry to interrupt this family get together, but your time is up Steele. "

The 'bot had Jason under one of his arms and reached unsuccessfully toward little Ryan

as he scooted away to his father.

Tyler grabbed his youngest son protectively and glared at the robot. "Give me back my son!"

"Give Grimlord the information he desires and you can have your son back," the robot countered.

Ryan rushed forward in an attempt to free the boy from the robot, but all he accomplished was successfully flying through the image of the robot and Jason. Ryan looked helplessly at his father and saw his father still protecting the little form of Ryan.

"I will never give Grimlord that information. He'll use it to destroy reality!"

Ryan could see the predicament that his father had landed in. If he rushed forward to save his son he left the one that was already safe unprotected and risked loosing him too. And if he gave the requested information. . .Then all of reality would be destroyed. What could he possibly do?

"Then you'll never see your precious son again. Think about the offer more. . . or next time it will be your other son!" And with his threat made the robot disappeared.

"NO!" Tyler shouted, but it was too late the robot was gone and so were his chances of seeing him again. He held the younger Ryan, who had been crying, tightly and tried to calm him down.

"Where's Jason dada?" the little boy sobbed. "Whanna see Jason!"

"Don't worry son you will. If it takes me my whole life, you'll see your brother again. I promise."

Ryan watched this silently hoping he could help and comfort the little boy that had been him. Suddenly the image grew dark and clouds surrounded him. His fathers image was gone and was replaced by an image of Grimlord. . . Laughing. Ryan became scared and yelled as Grimlord reached out for him.

"You're mine Steele!" The Gravely voice growled.

Ryan woke up with a start and yelled as two hands grabbed his shoulders. He jumped up off his couch turned around and took a fighting stance. He was surprised to see his fathers worried face.

"Whoa, Ryan. Take it easy. It's only me," Tyler Steele said as he threw up his hands.

"Dad? Is it really you?" Ryan asked suspiciously.

"Yeah it's really me. Who'd you think it was?"

"No one." Ryan relaxed from his fighting stance. "Sorry Dad. I was having a bad dream."

"Must've been a nightmare. You threw your book at my head when I tried to wake you up the first time. I had to wake you up from behind the couch. I figured it was safer than you punching me in your sleep." Tyler had walked around the couch and was now standing one foot in front of his son still worried. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No dad it's not that important. It was just some dream about this kid named Jason being my brother. You were taking a picture of us when he was kidnapped by a robot because you wouldn't give Grimlord some kind of information. I guess I had the dream because of this book I'm reading" He went and picked it up off the floor and handed it to his father. "I borrowed it from Tao." 

Tyler looked at the book in curiosity. "I don't see how a book from Tao could make you have a nightmare." He opened the cover of the book and read the first page. Suddenly Ryan's dream began to take form in his mind as his own nightmare. He remembered the book alright. He had borrowed it from Tao a long time ago, when Ryan was a child. There was an important secret in this book. An old, old secret that had caused him years of pain. It was also the reason behind Ryan's nightmare. "I thought that you'd never remember that. It was such a long time ago," Tyler whispered very softly to himself.

"What did you say dad?" Ryan asked him. He seriously wondered what his dad was talking about. What had he remembered? Was the dream true? Had he remembered something about his past?

Tyler looked up shocked. He had spoken out loud. "It's late Ryan. We'll have lunch together tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it. Go to sleep Ryan."

"Okay. Goodnight dad."

As Ryan walked up the stairs his dad opened the book and from a secret cut in the hard-cover of the book pulled out the picture from Ryan's dream. And looked at it sadly. He remembered that terrible day his oldest son was taken from him by Grimlords robot. _Funny _, he thought to himself, _I haven't thought about Jason for a long time _. That made him feel terrible. He had forgotten all about his son that had disappeared almost twenty years ago. "I'll tell you all about it Ryan. I'll have to. It's about time you know the truth about your brother."

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DA DA DUM! What will Ryan learn about Jason? Why Hasn't Tyler been looking for him? And when is Jason going to show up? All That to be answered in upcoming chapters of my messed up fanfiction.


	3. Home Early Can Be A Bad Thing

**Wow...**

**Revisions suck!**

**Disclaimer: As per usual I do not own Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or VR Troopers. (Let's face it ya'll if I did I wouldn't be working on this rotten piece of junk I have for a computer.) Prince Xarian and Juliet's Humanoid form Chameleon are products of my _way _overactive imagination. **

**Having that said read on and enjoy! **

Jason Lee Scott parked his motorcycle half a block down the street from his parent's house. The former Red and Gold Ranger had returned early from a karate tournament and had decided to surprise his parents. Because of all the activities he had become involved in since he had given the Gold Ranger powers back to Trey he didn't visit them as much as he would like to.

As he walked down the street, golden leaves crunched under his feet and a warm fall wind blew around him. As far back as Jason could remember, which was only till he was about 5 years old, he had loved playing in the leaves during fall. For 18 years he had roamed this street, never tiring of kicking the leaves around as he went along.

"It's good to be home," he whispered into the wind.

As he reached his home a sense of mischief welled into his usually calm demeanor. Quickly he snuck around to the back, being as quiet as a simple breeze. As he reached for the handle on the back door the sounds of yelling met his ears through the open kitchen window and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What do you mean he's not there? You're supposed to keep a close eye on him and you can't even do that!"

"He had a county tournament this weekend."

"We couldn't keep him here. It means the world to him to keep competing."

"It's not your job to keep him happy. Just to keep him away from Crossworld City and the Steele's."

Jason had recognized the voices of his parents. He did not, however, recognize the third voice. Curiosity had overrun caution and he quietly opened the door and slipped inside. He crept in the direction of the still loud voices and found a sight he never would have imagined seeing in his home.

A large holographic image of some demented looking man was centered in the living room. Jason tried to find where it came from but at his position hiding behind a large houseplant he didn't have a good view.

"A normal parent's job is to keep their child happy," his mother replied.

"Well you're not normal parents now are you? My father made you two rejects _too_ human."

"Give us some credit Lord Xarian," his father pleaded. "He thinks his kidnapping was a bad dream and he still believes that stupid story about the first 5 years of his life being lost to amnesia."

"I've heard enough of your excuses! You have both failed your mission and must now be punished by way of disintegration!"

Apparently their pleas of 'one more chance' and 'no, not that' fell on deaf ears as a blast of purple electricity burst from the computer screen beside them. As it crackled and surged around his parents they took on a different shape. They slightly resembled cogs in shape but were clothed in black and had gold robotic masks. As soon as they had changed fully they were sucked into the computer screen and the holograph shut off.

Jason came out from behind the houseplant with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He stumbled to the computer desk and searched for a sign of his parents in the now dark screen. A sense of hopelessness overcame him as he realized this was more than he alone could handle and he slumped down in the desk chair.

"I don't believe this. I _can't_ believe this. What…what do I do."

A glint of light on his wrist caught his eye. It had been the dying days sunlight reflecting off his communicator. Zordon had allowed him to keep it in case any of the evil he had helped fight came after him one day and as far as he was concerned this definitely constituted as being weird enough to involve at least Billy. Pushing the button to get a hold of his oldest friend

"Billy this is Jason. Are you there?" He listened intently for an answer and as he thought, he didn't have a long wait.

"Billy here. What's up?"

Jason could hear Alpha 5 in the background complaining about something or another and he couldn't help but smile.

"Jason?"

"Sorry Billy. There's just a lot on my mind. Could you do me a favor and come to my house."

"Can you give me a few minutes? I have to finish up this program for Zordon before Rita and Zedd launch another attack."

"Well how long do you think you'll be?"

Billy noticed the desperation in his voice and became very concerned. "I should only be another hour at most. Jason is everything all right?"

"Sure," he answered quietly. "I guess there's nothing to really do about it now."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Jason answered quickly. "I'll…I'll see you in about an hour"

Billy tried to find out more from his friend but heard the end communication signal from Jason's end. He ran his fingers through his sandy hair and started to think he should leave now and make sure his best friend was really OK.

"Ayeyaiyaiyaiyai! Billy I think we may have a problem. I inputted the first part of the code out of sequence. Now the arms are attacking the legs!"

"I'm coming Alpha," he answered deciding to go back to work.

Three hours later Billy turned up at Jason's doorstep. It was about 10 at night and Billy felt really bad for keeping Jason waiting this long. He knocked on the door only to find that it opened with his touch.

"Jason?" He called cautiously into the darkness beyond the door. He pushed the door open the rest of the way and felt the wall beside him for the light switch. He found it and flipped it on illuminating the living room. Looking around he spotted Jason sitting at the computer desk staring into the computer screen as if mesmerized by it's light. Billy walked over to him, calling his name several times but his friend did not answer or even stir. When he was close enough he read the screen and found it to say 'INCORRECT PASSWORD'.

"Jason," he ventured placing a careful hand on his friend's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I can't break the password on my parent's computer Billy"

"Jas, you know how your parents are about this computer. If they catch you on it they'll spontaneously combust."

"Believe me Billy they aren't going to care. Not ever again."

"Jason. What are you talking about?"

"They were sucked into the computer screen Billy. I know this will be hard to believe but before that they were changed into something inhuman. Like a cross between a putty and a cog. Then sucked into the computer by a holograph."

"Whoa Jas. Why don't you start over? How did all this start?"

Jason took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He turned toward his friend and explained everything that had happened since he got to Angel Grove. He couldn't look Billy in the eye as much as he tried. He felt ashamed that he knew nothing of his fake parents and that his life long nightmare had been true. He _had_ been kidnapped by robot when he was 5 and made to believe that it had all been a dream induced by his 'amnesia'.

"…And then while I was waiting for you I tried to break into their computer thinking there might be something on that guy I saw. But I was never really good at hacking."

"That's cause you always-skipped computer class. Here, let me try Jas."

Jason stood up, his face laced with disbelief. "You believe me Billy."

"Everyday for the past 7 years I've gone to the command centre and helped an intelligent robot and an inter-dimensional being that appears as a floating head. I think I can believe that your parents turned into robots and were sucked into the computer." Billy smiled as he sat at the computer and started concentrating furiously on typing.

Jason watched on in wonder as Billy hacked into the computer that stole his life. He had managed to get around the password but found that everything was encrypted and protected by firewalls. Every time Billy managed to get one down three more jumped up in its place.

"Well I'll give these robots credit. Whoever this Prince Xarian is, if he's as ruthless in life as he is protecting these files then I'd say there's a problem. But lucky for you he's never came across me." Billy pressed the enter key one last time and everything became readable. "Now what file do you want?"

"You are truly amazing Billy. Anything that has to do with the Steele family, Crossworld City or me."

"All right, here goes," he punched in some codes and the hard drive kicked into gear. About a minute later files started spilling onto the screen.

"Whoa Billy. Is this normal?"

"You mean for anyone other than spies? Jason this one's marked power rangers," he said in worry.

"Can you pull it up?"

Billy pulled up the file and they read in amazement everything Jason had done as the red and gold ranger.

"Billy they knew the whole time. They must have reported everything I ever did to this guy."

"No joke. There's even stuff in here about the rest of us. They know everything about the rangers."

They scrolled through some more and found one simply labeled: Steele.

When opened it told him His father's name was Tyler Steele and that he had two sons: Jason and Ryan. They lived in Crossworld City, and could often be found at a Dojo downtown that belonged to a family friend named Tao.

"Billy I think I need to make a trip to Crossworld City. If I remember right it should be about two hours east of here right?"

"Jason I don't think this is such a good idea. What if this is a trap to catch you again?"

"Billy they knew I was a power ranger. They can catch me anytime they want to they've proven that with the files on this computer. I'm going to try to find my family."

"You're not going now are you?"

"No time like the present," he said as he went to his room to gather some things. Billy followed him and he sighed as he packed a new bag. "You're not going to talk me out of it Billy so don't even try."

"I don't want to talk you out of it Jas. It's just that I think maybe you should go talk to Zordon about this."

"No. I'm not going to delay this anymore Billy. The only people I want to talk to are in Crossworld City."

"Then at least let me go with you." Jason picked up his bag and started for the living room again. "Jason please," Billy begged as he grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You know you're valuable to the power rangers Billy. What if they need you and you're not there for them. Alpha and Zordon may be smart. But not as smart as you. You always were the strongest out of all of us Billy. Keep them safe."

"Can't you at least wait until morning? It's midnight now Jas."

"No. It has to be now. If this is a trap they'll never expect me to come so soon. Besides there's a lot I want to think about on the way there. I'll be all right, so stop worrying. If there is a problem I'll contact you with my communicator OK?"

"I guess so. If you don't mind though I'm going to take this computer to Zordon. If it can suck people into it really shouldn't be left unattended.

"Good point. Go ahead and take it. I'll give you a ring in the morning. I don't know how long I'll be gone Billy. Take care of my house for me will ya?"

"No problem." With a handshake and a hug Jason was gone leaving Billy standing on his doorstep. After a moment Jason's bike was heard starting and then he drove out of sight. "Be careful Jason. Something tells me this is going to be harder than anything you ever faced as a ranger. I hope this isn't a trap. But if it is, I pity them for messing with you," he smirked as he turned back to the house to take the computer to Zordon.

As predicted Jason got to Crossworld City in about 2 hours. He drove around the town silently for a good 10 minutes before he found a hotel. Not knowing how long he would be in town he asked for the room for two nights. His conversation with the hotel clerk was brief. He was a tired looking old man and he grumbled about how early in the morning it was and something about the hotel rules. He hastily gave Jason his key and went back to the adjoining room to the infomercials on the TV.

As he settled into his room he realized just how tired he was. Setting the alarm for 8 the next morning he turned off the light and slipped into a nightmare plagued sleep.

**DA DA DUM! What will happen in the morning? How will Tyler and Ryan react to Jason's sudden arrival? And what exactly are Prince Xarians' plans? Find out on the next exciting adventure of my messed up fan fiction.**


	4. Nightmares pt 2

**Sorry about the delay folks. I've been doing a lot of soul searching and moving around. As well as dealing with bouts of severe depression and sucky jobs. I have a lot more free time on my hands lately since I've moved to a new state and been out of a job for a while. But now I'm back and I happen to have an interview today (wish me luck). Depression is over and I'm on a roll. **

**There were a few questions asked in reviews:**

**One was that in the series Billy had gone to Aquitar and stayed there. I disregard that episode I thought it was stupid that Billy would stay on a planet that was mostly water with an alien that was a fish. Could you imagine what the kids would look like? Billy was a cool character and I had to have him in my fic so that makes the story slightly AU.**

**Another was why Grimlord would go to the trouble of setting up an alternate life for Jason. That is answered in the chapter you are about to read. I hope it makes since now.**

**Disclaimer: As per usual I do not own Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or V. R. Troopers. (Let's face it ya'll if I did I wouldn't be working on this rotten piece of junk I have for a computer.) Prince Xarian and Juliet's Humanoid form Chameleon (she'll show up eventually. I promise) are products of my _way _overactive imagination.**

**Having that said, read on and enjoy. **

_Jason dreamed of darkness that night. A thick inky blackness that surrounded him and weighted him down. The feeling was as familiar as the dream. It always started this way. But as he grew he was no longer the small boy he had once been when the dream started. Now he faced the dream in his adult form but still felt the fear and weakness as always. _

_"No!" He shouted into the darkness. He tried to will the darkness away. Tried to dream of something comforting. But the harder he tried the more suffocating the darkness became. He would dream of that day again. He would relive it as an adult and no longer regard it as a nightmare but as a dark memory. He stopped resisting and let the memory come to him. _

_Voices came at him from every direction. And although it was dark he knew the faces of those voices. One was a twisted face of evil that had plagued him since he could remember. The other, a human face but also filled with hatred and evil. _

_"He should be killed."_

_"No."_

_"It will only make them stronger. He needs to die. And if you won't kill him then I will."_

_The force of whatever had hit him landed him on his back. There had been pain then that pierced his left shoulder and he screamed as he suffered. The wound was hot like fire and the smell of something burnt made him sick to his stomach. He struggled to his feet holding his shoulder and faced the man that had lashed out at him. They'd stolen him from his family and now this guy wanted to kill him. _

_He swung at the man but even though he faced this nightmare as an adult he still only had the strength and speed of a four-year-old child. His hand had been grabbed and held above his head. For a second he was 4 again and hanging in the air by his arm. And he kicked out at the man and nailed him in the groin. With a howl of pain the man dropped him back to the ground. He landed on his left arm and he cried out. He scooted away as far as he could, noticing that as he did he was his own age again. _

_The man advanced on him in rage now a dark sword drawn. As he sat on the floor his back pressed against the wall he had no way to escape him. Tears started to flow from his eyes but he didn't make a sound. At least he had tried to fight the man._

_"That was not half bad kid," the man sneered as he pressed the tip of his sword into his neck "I see that the Professor taught his little runt something after all. But all you've done is piss me off kid. Now I think I'll kill you a little slower and more painfully."_

_"That's enough Xarian!" Came the gravely voice from the thrown across the room. "I told you he's not to be killed."_

_"This is stupid father! The boy should be killed and his corpse sent back to Steele as a lesson." As emphasis he pressed the tip of his sword into the quivering neck enough to make it bleed. _

_"No! Killing the boy will only make the professor stronger. There is nothing more dangerous than a man who has nothing to loose. Besides I have a more mentally and emotionally painful way of getting to Steele. Everything is already set up for the boy's departure. Now remove your sword Xarian and step back."_

_"Yes father," Xarian glared as he stepped away._

_Jason watched as the older, more evil looking man came toward him. He tried to will himself invisible by drawing his legs into his chest and burying his head into his knees. He heard a gentle scoff as a hand was placed on his head. He looked up, eyes wide in fear, and found himself staring into the cold twisted face._

_"Who...who are you?" Even his voice sounded small and weak compared to the figures in front of him._

_"I am Grimlord. Master of this world. Your stay in my realm will be a short one my boy. And in time you will look back on this time as if it is a bad nightmare. You will be used to cause your father great pain and I am not sorry to say that I will enjoy watching him suffer. This is really all your fathers fault boy." _

_Grimlord grabbed his left arm and pulled him to his feet. Jason gave a muffled cry as his hurt arm was yanked roughly but still tried to pull away regardless. He hit with his right arm and kicked at the monster trying to get free. _

_"My dad will stop you! Your evil and he'll stop you."_

_"How can he defeat me when he can't even save his own child," Grimlord laughed as he shook him roughly._

_"He'll save me. My dad will save me!"_

_"Dear young Steele, he'll never find you. I've made sure of that. And you," he regarded Jason Steele cruelly as he unleashed his dark power on him. He grinned satisfied as the boy slumped forward onto him with nary a cry. He let off his power not wanting to kill the boy, merely show him he was powerless to help himself. "You will only remember him in nightmares. You're going to disappear Jason Steele and you're going to be the cause of your father's downfall. So glad to have your help."_

_Jason heard every word that was said. But didn't register their meaning. Grimlord and Xarian disappeared and he fell. Images popped into his head for seconds at a time. He saw and heard a number of things he couldn't comprehend. A request for a brain wash. A concern for someone so young. A suggestion to merely jumble his memories and lock some things away. An agreement and a warning that it had better be enough. Then the image of a beautiful woman who had tears in her eyes as she placed a metal ring on a small boy's head and pressed a button. _

_Jason became aware of a buzzing noise start at the back of his mind. It was soft and barely noticeable at first but slowly became more prominent in his mind. As the noise grew in volume it was accompanied by pain that grew in intensity as well. He grabbed the sides of his head and screamed as it became too much for him to handle. _

Jason sat up in bed gasping for air and covered in sweat. The buzzing noise from his dream still persisted in assaulting his eardrums. He looked around disoriented and found the alarm by the bed to be the cause of the offending noise. He reached over and turned it off and looked at the time unbelieving.

"8 o'clock already." Jason grudgingly got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. He turned the faucet on cold and leaned down to splash the water on his face. He needed the water to help wake him up. It also washed the sweat off his face. He turned off the water and looked up into the mirror.

What am I doing here? He reached up to touch the scar that covered his left shoulder. He'd always wondered about it. Had kept it from view for years. If any of his friends had seen it none of them had asked. If that was a real memory I owe this Prince Xarian a lot of payback.

Once again confident in his presence in the unfamiliar town Jason walked over to the desk to make his phone call to Billy. He didn't want to use his communicator more than he had to. If this Prince Xarian really did know as much about him as the computer had said he didn't want to risk his communication being overheard.

The phone rang as he reached for it and he drew back startled. He reached back out and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Jason? Thank God! I've tried every hotel in Crossworld City."

"Billy? Calm down man. Is everything ok?"

"Not really. I searched through the computer some more and talked to Zordon about the information I found. It may not have been a good idea for you to go out there by yourself."

"What are you talking about? What did you find Billy?"

"That Prince Xarian guy's not the least of our problems."

"Our? Billy..."

"Did you think I was going to let you deal with this by yourself? We've been friends since you came to Angel Grove and I'm not about to let my best friend face something like this on his own."

"Face something like what?" Worry crept into Jason at his friends' words. Whatever he had found was enough for him to try calling all the hotels in the town. "What did you find Billy?"

"The real ruler of the Virtual World is called Grimlord. I asked Zordon and as far as he knows Grimlord hasn't been heard from since the destruction of his Skybase in Virtual Reality."

"So junior decided to take over after Dad kicked the bucket?"

"Assuming that Xarian is his son of course. There was nothing on him in the computer."

"Trust me I remember him," Jason muttered darkly as he rubbed his left shoulder. "The bastard tried to kill me. He wasn't happy with the fact that Grimlord kept me alive."

"That's just one more reason why you shouldn't be there alone right now. If he tries anything as you are now you could end up dead."

"Isn't there anyone who can oppose him?" Jason asked changing the subject.

"It seems that Crossworld City is home to the V. R. Troopers," Billy replied. He noticed the obvious change of subject and for now he would allow it. But it was still a subject that needed to be discussed. "Zordon knows little about them. What we could look up on them was restricted to news reports. They apparently thwart his attempts to take over reality at every turn."

"The computer didn't have anything on them?"

"No. But Jas we've gotten off the subject. The real reason I was so worried is that Grimlord was running a test between you and your brother."

"What sort of test Billy?"

"I think you should come back to Angel Grove and talk to Zordon."

"Dammit Billy what kind of test?"

Billy sighed as he realized that Jason couldn't be reasoned with. He would face this head on and reclaim his past and get revenge on this Prince Xarian. But that behavior would lead to his downfall if he read the test parameters correctly.

"I'm sorry Billy," Jason apologized for his outburst. He didn't mean to yell at the former ranger but this beating around the bush was really annoying. "Just tell me Billy please."

"It was a test on behavior patterns to see which one of you would be more suitable to take over as Grimlord if anything happened to him." Billy listened to the silence at the other end of the line with growing anxiety. This was something he would have rather discussed with his friend in person. It was hard to guess his feeling over the phone and even harder to calm him down from so far away. Jason could be so stubborn sometimes.

"What were the results?" Jason managed to choke out the question. What if they came after him again? He was older now and would be able to fight them off. But for how long? The thought worried him and made him feel small like he did in his nightmares. He knew he didn't have the means to fight off a threat like this. These creatures had taken him away from his family and rearranged his memories. No one had been able to stop them. And now he was here alone with only a few names to go on. He should have listened to Billy. Should have stayed and found out more before he rushed off. But it couldn't be changed now. All he could do was hope that he would be strong enough to face what happened next. "Billy?"

"Your results were apparently favorable," Billy finally said.

"That's why he was so angry that I wasn't there. He was searching for me," Jason realized as his eyes focused on nothing at all and he felt numbness spread through him.

He didn't have the strength to stand anymore so he dropped down to the bed. A thought occurred to him and he voiced his concern. "What about my brother's results?"

"I'm sorry Jason. It doesn't say. I'm assuming that Grimlord had that information." Worry and sadness for his friend filled him as he listened to the silence at the other end of the line. "Jason I'm having Zordon transport me there. You need some help with this."

"Yeah, ok Billy." Jason came back to himself. "No that's not a good idea. He's probably trying to find a way to locate me still. Since he knows about the rangers he might know how to trace our communicators and transporters."

"We'd be giving away your location," Billy finished for him. How could he have missed that? "And risk losing the element of surprise. Ok then, I'll drive there. Promise me you won't go anywhere till I get there Jason."

"I promise Billy. Just hurry. We need to get to my brother and warn him before it's too late. If it isn't already."

**DA DA DUM! Will Billy make it in time for them to warn Ryan? How will Tyler and Ryan Steele react to Jason's arrival? And whom will Prince Xarian turn into Grimlord? Find out in the upcoming exciting (I hope) adventures of my messed up fan fiction.**


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